Royal Bank of Canada Buys 49,740 Shares of SM Energy Company $SM

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada more than doubled its SM Energy stake in the first quarter, purchasing 49,740 additional shares for a total holding of 94,115 shares valued at approximately $2.94 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.56% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Wells Fargo upgraded SM Energy to “overweight” with a $47 target, while the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $37.93.
• SM Energy exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.19 in earnings per share and $2.50 billion in revenue, with revenue up 215.3% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% yield.

Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 112.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,115 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 49,740 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in SM Energy were worth $2,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Global Investments increased its position in shares of SM Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,417 shares of the energy company's stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,748 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in SM Energy by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,860 shares of the energy company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,211 shares of the energy company's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised SM Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho raised SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group initiated coverage on SM Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded SM Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $61.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at SM Energy

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 24,553 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.98, for a total transaction of $834,310.94. Following the sale, the director owned 65,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,241,456.72. This trade represents a 27.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock opened at $33.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50 day moving average is $29.72 and its 200 day moving average is $28.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. SM Energy Company has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $35.88.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%.SM Energy's revenue was up 215.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 7.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is 17.32%.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company NYSE: SM is an independent energy firm engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company focuses on identifying and exploiting unconventional onshore basins, leveraging advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize resource recovery. SM Energy's operations are supported by an integrated approach to reservoir management and strategic midstream partnerships, enabling efficient transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons.

The company's core asset areas include prolific basins such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and the Rocky Mountain region.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source